Forever Summer
by Golden-Skies-of-Tulsa
Summary: Eleanor Matthews has never been someone that is unforgettable. She blends in with the crowd and has friends that put her in the shadow not that she's complaining. She's content with her life, but she's ready for a change now. It's the summer of her sixteenth birthday and Eleanor knows that this is the time she's going to remember for the rest of her life.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here the new chapter for this old story. I hope you like chapter 2 should be up later! (HOPEFULLY)

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I smile and tuck a piece of my loose hair back into my braid. Two-Bit is gabbing to us gilrs about the party that the Curtis brother's threw last night after graduation. He's got this devilish gleam in his eyes that let me know that most of the things he's telling us are probably an exaggeration, but I continue to let him talk because I know he likes the attention.

"Yeup, the party last night makes this little get together a big ol'snore," he says before playfully jabbing me in the ribs. "You know when I was sixteen we all would have been rip roaring drunk already."

"Oh Lord," I say but my friends burst into a fit of giggles. "Why don't you go back to Curtis house than since their so much more fun?"

"And miss my baby sister's sweet sixteen?" Two-Bit asks and I roll my eyes again. "Besides I'm sure things will pick up once Mama goes to bed. Which one of you gals snuck beer in your purse."

My friends start giggling again, but my best friend Mindy just rolls her eyes. She looks at me and makes a face that causes me to smirk. We have our looks to each other down because most of the time we're thinking the same thing. Tonight it's when is Two-Bit going to leave us alone?

"I bet it was Mindy who snuck the beer in. You know what they say about Preacher's daughters," Two-Bit then breaks into a cackle and Mindy rolls her eyes dramatically.

She's been my very best friend since elementary school and has grown up with Two-Bit teaser her non-stop. She was his unofficial little sister and he probably loves her just the same as he loves me. He would go from teasing her to protecting her in a matter of seconds, because that's just how Two-Bit is with the people that he considered being family. Mindy's been around for most of our lives which made her more a part of our family then our actual blood relatives.

"I'm just the _real_ life of the party," her voice is heavily sarcastic and my brother grins.

"Don't I know it," he grins before reaching over and tousling her hair the same way he would mine.

Mindy is real quiet, but when she's comfortable with people she can be a real character. She's smaller than me, barely standing around five foot and has long brown hair that curls at the ends. Her eyes are the same color as coffee and she has a real sweet delicate voice. Her cheekbones are by far her most striking feature because of how prominent they are. She could be a movie star or even a model is she wasn't so modest. As the preacher's daughter her morals are higher than most, but that doesn't mean she can't have a good time. She would just rather fun be natural, like going to the lake to actual swim instead of booze up or going to the movies to actual see what's playing instead of making a scene to get a rise out of people. She's middle class and has Soc friends as well, but she still gets along well with our kind here.

"Well how come you didn't go to the Curtis party Eleanor?" Polly asks. She's always trying to get the best of everyone because she thinks she's so much better.

She's like the ring leader of our little group of friends and is real tough. Her older brother is the second in command for the Tiber Street Tigers. Two-Bit can't stand her and always tells me to stop hanging around her, but I like Polly for the soul reason that she always knows how to have a good time. Which too be honest I'm not a big drinker, but I feel like it's important to have the high school experience every so often and I could only get that with Polly.

Polly is your typical Greaser girl. She talks loud, swears too much, and cakes on her makeup. She stands about the same height as me and has curly blond ringlets that won't grow past her shoulders. Her eyes are a muddy green which really compliments the creamy tone of her skin. Her voice is also seductive, with a deep raspy tone and limps are long making her seem incredibly skinny. Truthfully, she would be the prettiest in my group of friends if she wasn't so damn mean and petty. It worked for some girls, but not for her.

"Why would I go to a Curtis party?" I ask and she shrugs her shoulders.

"I just thought y'all were friends, considering you grew up together." Polly licks her lips and then smiles at me and I have half a mind to jump across the table and strangle her, but I don't.

"No they're my brother's friends. They don't have anything to do with me," I say evenly and Two-Bit rolls his eyes.

"I was there," Angela Shepard who tagged along with Polly says and I glance at Mindy.

Mindy gives me the look of 'Why the hell is she here anyways' and I shrug my shoulders, tipping my chair back on the two back legs.

"Were you now?" Emily says with false excitement. She closed my group of friends and I was sure glad to have her.

She's a rather tall red-head with eyes the color of a cloudless sky. She's smart and witty and best of all could not stand Angela Shepard for the life of her. Like me, she could deal with Polly because to be honest we were about the realest that girl is ever going to get so Polly had to be nice to us sometimes which gave us some perks in that friendship. Emily has olive colored skin and even though she's a greaser girl she sure did her best not to look the part. Her face is always clean and her clothes were better looking than any of ours. Although she has an attitude, she's also really nice and caring. She just doesn't like when people tried to make her close friends looks bad and Angela Shepard is the queen of that.

"Oh yeah I went with my boyfriend Bryan. They graduated together you know," Angela says and Two-Bit gets up from the table. This was enough girls talk for him.

"Can you ask Mama when she's going to bring out the cake?" I whisper to him and he nods.

"Sure thing," Two-Bit says before he disappears into the kitchen. I sure wish I could leave with him.

"Oh you and Bryan are together? It isn't like you haven't told us this about twenty times in the last hour or anything," Emily snaps and Angela's black eyes glare at her across the table.

"Well I'm just happy. It isn't like any of you have a boyfriend or any boys to talk about at all," Angela's voice is full of false sweetness. It's enough to make me gag and for Mindy to stifle a giggle next to me.

"Why are you even here?" Emily says under her breath as Angela continues her own account of what happened during the Curtis' graduation party.

I feel like I may die boredom because Angela is no Two-Bit when she tells stories, but thankfully we're saved when the lights are turned off and my mama brings out the cake she made for my birthday. She sets in down in front of me and then kisses the top of my head sweetly.

"My girl," she whispers to me affectionately. She then turns to Two-Bit and points an angry finger, "Now I mean it Two-Bit, you smash this cake into your sister's face this year and there's going to be some hell to pay."

"Mama, you really think I would ruin my baby sister's sixteenth birthday like that?" He asks and the table nods in harmonious agreement. Two-Bit just cracks a grin and response and says, "Well yeah I guess I would."

Two-Bit leads us in a humorous round of happy birthday but I'm barely listening to what my guests are singing. My birthday always kicks off the summer and right now I'm determined to have the best summer I could ever imagine. I want a summer that a teenage girl dreams about. When the song comes to a close I take a deep breath and close my eyes repeating my wish in my head over and over again.

_Please oh, please just give me a summer that I'll remember._

I open my eyes and blow all sixteen candles out, knowing that the only person around to make my wish true would be me and I wasn't about to let myself down.

My brother switches the lights back on and I watch my Mama cut the cake she worked so hard to bake me. I take a deep breath and look at Mindy who's smiling at me. She always looks real happy to be around me and I'm glad that she's here to celebrate another birthday of mine, because truth be told we're starting to grow apart. Having different types of friends can do that to a relationship.

"What did you wish for?" Two-Bit asks and I shake my head at him.

"For you to get a job, move out, and shave those caterpillars off the side of your face," I tell him and my brother smirks.

"Well now that you told me it won't come true," he says causing me to cock my eyebrow up in a very Two-Bit fashion and he laughs. "Kid you're getting to become more and more like me every day."

"Oh lord, don't say that to me again," I make a face he shakes his head at me.

"Why don't you want to be like your older brother?" He asks and I shake my head no.

"If it means I'm twenty-three and still living in mama's house than no sir," my voice is full of good fun and Two-Bit laughs, but locks his jaw like he's real annoyed.

"Kid if I moved out of her you'd miss way too much," he says and I roll my eyes. It's true I would miss my brother way too much, but I would never tell him that.

After the cake is eaten people begin to file out of the house like I expected them to. My friends tell me that they'll see me tomorrow and I'm glad that this doesn't include Angela Shepard. Mindy hugs me tightly before she leaves and whispers in my ear, "I left your gift under your bed."

"I said no gifts," I pull away from the hug and Mindy just shrugs her shoulders.

"It's your birthday," she tells me with a smile and I hug her again.

"Thanks," I tell her and she winks at me before walking down to her daddy's car that's parked in the driveway.

"Happy Birthday Eleanor!" He calls from the window and I wave to him.

"Thanks Mr. Robert's!" I yell back before heading back inside the house.

Two-Bit is putting on his leather jacket and I stare at him for a brief moment. "Where you going?" I ask and Two-Bit just looks at me, a small smile on his face.

"Me and Steve are heading to out to Buck Merril's. Want to come?" He asks but I know he's kidding.

"Sure, let me go get the bottle of gin that's tucked away in my closet." I kid and he laughs, tousling my hair.

"You ain't much of a baby anymore," he says as he looks down at me. I shrug my shoulders because I don't feel any different than I had yesterday when I was fifteen.

"Sure I am," I say and Two-Bit just smirks. The truth was I could kind of understand where he was coming from. In the past few months I've finally started to fill out, becoming curvier like a woman. My dirty blonde hair has grown out to reach the middle of my back and I've even taught myself to apply just the right amount of eyeliner to make my blue eyes the main feature on my face. So I could understand what Two-Bit meant. I look older and he isn't used to that yet.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he tells me and I punch him affectionately in the shoulder.

"Be safe," a constant reminder I've told him over the years.

"Always am," he says and I close the front door carefully behind him.

I lock myself away in my room since Mama had already gone to bed. She has a long day of work tomorrow and even though both Two-Bit and I think she overworks herself there's nothing she can really do. She's a single mom and has to work to not only put food on the table but make sure she raised Two-Bit and I well enough to stay out of any dangerous trouble. Even though her relatives don't think so, I think Mama has done a damn fine job raising the two of us by herself.

The gift from Mindy is right under my bed like she said it would be and I smile at the perfectly wrapped gift. In her loopy handwriting she wrote to my best friend with love. I carefully open the paper not wanting to do too much damage to it since it's so pretty. Inside is the Beatles record and I laugh, glad that she had hidden it from the others because they would have given us so much shit for liking them. I flip the record between my fingers before placing it gently on the desk underneath my window. It's still incredibly hot and I make the decision that tonight would be the perfect time to make my first visit to the vacant lot.

Every summer when the weather's just right at night I sneak off to the vacant lot and sit underneath the stars. It's just a way for me to escape and think about everything that I need to do or should be doing. The lot had originally been Johnny's place and out of all of my brother's friends he had been my favorite.

He found me out there one time when I had decided to run away and live in the old abandoned car in the lot. I had been crying because I was cold and didn't want to go home just yet. I was trying to prove a point to myself that I didn't need my brother or mama to take care of me, but deep down inside little 'ol me knew I needed them more than I cared to admit. Johnny had heard me crying and stood up from the spot where he had been watching the stars and joined me on top of the that old rusty car.

"Why are you out here El?" He asked and I just sniffled in response, "Come on you can tell me."

"I'm running away," I said once I was sure I could say it without my voice quivering.

Johnny gave the look over like my mama did whenever I left the house to make sure I was wearing the appropriate clothes. "You're gonna runaway in slippers?" He pointed and I turned away from him huffy. I wasn't too smart of a kid.

"Why is this any of your business Johnny Cade?" I snapped and he chuckled, lighting up a cigarette and taking a slow drag.

"Because Two-Bit would skin me if he knew I had saw you and didn't make you go straight home," Johnny answered and I rolled my eyes.

"Two-Bit doesn't care about me," I was being stubborn but Johnny was being patient with me. If it had been someone like Dallas or Steve who found me they would have just picked me up and brought me back home even if I had screamed the entire time there.

"That's just a ton of bologna," he said being careful not to swear at me. "Two-Bit loves you more than anything on this earth and I can't believe you would even think that."

"Look El," Johnny said as he took off his jacket to give to me since I had been shaking like crazy, "everyone thinks there home life is unsatisfying but let me tell you that everyone loves you more than you could possibly think."

"They don't show it all the time," I whispered and Johnny just shrugged.

"Everyone has off days, but I know that Two-Bit would lose his mind if anything ever happened to you, believe me." Johnny whispered back before nudging me with his shoulder. "Let me take you home."

When I don't get up to follow him Johnny sighed and said, "Whenever you feel like youre being suffocated, come out to the vacant lot. It's a good place to take a break and just sort everything out. You can keep me company, but come one you're not dressed to be out here tonight."

That was the last time I ever Johnny Cade because just a few weeks after him and Ponyboy got into a lot of trouble and he died a just a week or two later. I cried at his funeral, not only because it scared me something awful seeing my brother and his tough friends cry but also because I would miss how sweet Johnny Cade had been to me.

I crawl up onto the old abandoned car and lay down on the hood. The sky is cloudless and I can see almost every star in the night sky. I love it here. I felt safe here. As I got older I finally understood why Johnny liked it here so much, because even it if was just for a few minutes the wide night sky makes you feel free.

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A/N: Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

My porch is the closest to the vacant lot and from our spot we can hear the boys hollering over their football game. I smile, shaking my head remembering how badly I used to want to play with them when I was younger. The one time I finally got play was when Two-Bit wasn't around. I caught the ball and Steve tackled me to the ground, breaking two of my fingers in the process. He carried me home to Mama and kept apologizing for two weeks afterwards.

The thing about my brother's friends is that while I was never invited into their little gang I was still a part of their little family because of whose little sister I was. When Two-Bit or Mama couldn't take me someplace or pick me up one of them always would. Even Dallas Winston would walk me home from my after school dance classes if he was headed that way anyways. The gang was just like this weird family and I knew that even though I wasn't close to any of them all I had to do was cry and if I couldn't find my brother they would take care of whatever or whoever was bothering me.

I sip on my lemonade and remember the time Dallas had picked me up from dance class. It was sure a sight to see then. He didn't talk to me the entire time, but I remember feeling safe with him. Dallas was a hood, but he watched his mouth around girls especially around me. I'm not saying he cared the least bit, but I knew he wouldn't let anything happen to me as long as I was under his watch.

"Incoming Curtis," Emily says and we all look up quickly. Sodapop Curtis is hobbling down the street to my house and I smile somewhat.

Sodapop had spent almost two years in Vietnam before he was injured. He was way too close to a blast from a landmine and while it thankfully didn't kill him, the blast burned him and threw him a few feet. He now walks with a cane and his left arm is in a sling. There are burns that cover that trail up his left arm to his face and he has an eye patch. My brother says that he doesn't even act like his old self anymore. He's meaner and things trigger these weird panic attacks. Two-Bit says it's terrifying what the war did to Sodapop and the idea sent my stomach into knots.

"Hey ladies," he says once he reaches the bottom of my porch and I smile at him.

"Hi Soda," I say to him. He's struggling to make his way up the porch but I don't make any motion to help him. Two-bit told me that Soda hates that people don't think he can do anything for himself anymore. So I leave him alone and I can tell by the smile on his face that he's happy I did.

"What you brings you around Sodapop?" Mindy asks and he sits down on the porch swing next to me.

"I got bored watching the boy's play football without me and Two-Bit told me that there's some fresh squeezed lemonade here so I thought I'd come check it out," he explains and I stand up to get him a glass from inside.

"You want some of Mama's chocolate cake? We got some leftover from last night," I say knowing how much those Curtis boy's love chocolate cake.

"Do you even have to ask Little-Bit?" He cracks a grin and I smile at him.

"That is a god awful nickname," I say over my shoulder and Sodapop chuckles.

I can hear the girls talking to Soda and I'm glad that he's socializing with us instead of going home to be by himself. I make sure to cut Soda an extra-large piece of cake because no one is going to eat it and I don't want it to go to waste. I balance the glass of lemonade on the plate and bring it back out to him and he smiles.

"Thank you ma'am," he says and I wink taking a piece of cake off of his cake and popping it into my mouth. "So what you hens gabbing about?"

"Don't call us hens," I tell him.

"We're talking about the party at Mark and Bryan's house," Polly says and Soda nods his head.

"Yeah I think I heard Pony talking about it," Soda says and Polly's eyes light up. She had the biggest crush on him and I already knew that we were really going to this party now.

"Don't those parties get kind of rough?" Mindy asks and Polly rolls her eyes. "I heard some kid ended up in the hospital because of one of those Tigers."

"The Tiber Street Tigers don't come to parties on this side of town," Soda explains and Polly rolls her eyes.

"Sure they do Sodapop. You just have to look for them," Polly is ridiculously prideful of her brother's gang which is why I'm still so surprised that she's buddy buddy with Angela Shepard. Last time I checked the Shepard gang and the Tigers were on the outs.

"I don't think I'll be going to any party that gang members attend," Mindy says and Polly sneers at her.

"Oh like the bunch of Socs you hang around is any better," Polly snaps and Mindy throws her nose in the air. This is something she picked up from her new friends and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it.

"Actually they kind of are," Mindy counters before standing up. "Go to the party if you want El, but you wouldn't catch me dead there."

"Oh like we would want you there anyways," Polly says as she pulls her lip up in a dangerous smirk.

"I really wasn't talking to you," Mindy says over her shoulder before looking back at me and both of us make a face at each other. "Besides I got church in the morning."

Polly rolls her eyes and goes back to flipping through the magazine in her lap.

"Are you going to come tomorrow morning Soda?" Mindy asks and he looks a little caught off guard. "Dawn called me and told that you were thinking about stopping by."

"Yeah she seems to think it will be good for me," Soda licks his lips and looks down at his messed up foot.

Dawn is Soda's girlfriend. They got to together about a year after Sandy left him. I know the two of them had been friends for a while before that and had been sweet on each other, but I never thought a Soc-y girl like Dawn would actually go out with Soda. She really loves him though. She cried when he went off to Vietnam and then went off to school in Philadelphia before he could come home. I don't think they've seen each other since he's been home since he can't really take a bus to Philadelphia and she can't really leave school. It's nice to know the two of them are still together though; she's real good to him.

"Just come by tomorrow morning. If you don't like it you don't have to come back," Mindy says and Soda nods his head.

"Yeah, I'll think about it," he tells her and then Mindy leaves the topic alone. She never forces church on anyone, just says it might be a good idea and then leaves it alone.

"I didn't know you and Dawn were friends," Soda says and Mindy smiles.

"She was my camp counselor at church camp one year. Her mom's also real active with the fundraisers we hold." Mindy explains and at the mention of Dawn's mama Soda's eyes darken a bit. Two-Bit had once told me that both Soda and Dawn don't like her mama at all. She's a real Bitch, Two-Bit had said. "We only talk once in a while, but she's just worried about you. Wants to get you out of the house for something uplifting."

"Sounds like Dawn," Soda says with a small warm smile and I picture how the two of them were before he went off to Vietnam.

There's a lot of hollering coming from down the street and we look to find the rest of my brother's friends coming home. "Bet they're coming to finish off the lemonade," I say and Emily ad Polly stand up.

"Which means it's our cue to go," Emily says because while they liked the attention from the boys, they didn't like how all of them would tease them at the same time when they were together. "We'll meet you at Polly's tonight?"

"Yeah," I say and Mindy stretches her legs out on the porch. She's used to the boy's teasing like I am.

Two-Bit is by far the loudest and I roll my eyes when I see him pull Mark into a headlock. Mark and Bryan started hanging around them after Ponyboy befriended them. They weren't really part of the gang I guess, but the other boys seem to like them just fine.

"Looks like Ol' Soda beat us here," Steve calls and Soda laughs. "Enjoying the girl talk?"

"Sure thing, I'm learning all kinds of secrets," he calls back before nudging me in the ribs. The truth is that we could have been sharing secrets and Soda would have locked all of them away. He would never tell a soul. That's the greatest thing about him.

"I bet you are. Mindy and Eleanor are just full of them," Two-Bit chimes in before heading inside to get everyone a glass.

The boys are all sweaty and gross. Mindy scoots a little ways from Steve and I stifle a laugh. She has a rather big crush on Steve, always has and she doesn't like to be near him in case he says something to her and she blushes.

"How was graduation Ponyboy?" Mindy asks trying to seem normal as possible but I can tell she's dying inside.

"Oh it was real fun," he says to her before glancing at me. Pony's always been shy and he also seems to get cuter each time I see him. Which surprisingly isn't very often. He's always busy with school, work, and I guess friends now since he's Mr. Popularity.

"You missed a real party afterwards," Mark says and he punches Pony in the arm. "Surprised you weren't there." He says to me and I try not to blush at the fact that his golden eyes are looking straight into mine.

"I wasn't invited," I say and Darry grunts.

"Eleanor you know you're always welcome in our house," he reminds me and I nod my head. He pats the porch railing and looks around before saying, "I better get going. Lydia will kill me if we're late for this appointment."

"What appointment is Superman going to?" Steve asks Soda.

Soda cracks a grin and says, "They got a flower appointment for the wedding."

"Well shoot, Darry can afford that?" Two-Bit says as he places the pitcher of lemonade on the table out here and hands out glasses to the boys.

"Her parents are paying for most of it. It's driving Darry nuts." Pony explains.

Mindy and I stare at each other, trying to find an appropriate time to head back inside the house. The boys are probably going to start talking about something gross soon and we wanted to get out of here before we were stuck hearing about someone's sex life.

"What are you two planning?" Two-Bit asks, he always notices the looks Mindy and I give each other.

"Nothing, we're going to go inside," I explain and Mindy jumps to her feet. Steve smirks a bit and I'm pretty sure he knows about Mindy's crush on him, but I'm glad he doesn't tease her for it.

"Eleanor," Mark says before I'm almost inside, "Bryan and I are having a party tonight and it'd be cool if you stopped by."

I look at my brother who's now frowning at the golden eyed boy. I lick my lips and say, "You might see me there," my voice is coy and he lifts his brows up before nodding his head.

"Well wait a minute," Two-Bit says before standing in front of me. He's going to pull the protective older brother card. "Who else is going to be there?"

"I'll be there Two-Bit," Ponyboy says and I let out a breath. Two-Bit will let me go as long as he knows that one of the gang will be there as well. "I'll make sure she stays out of trouble."

"I don't need a babysitter," I say, shoving Two-Bit a little and then shooting Ponyboy a look.

"Sure you do, now go inside." Two-Bit says before pushing me back in and closing the front door afterwards.

"Golly," Mindy says to me as we walk down the hall. "That was real stupid of Mark to ask you to go to the party in front of your brother.

"Yeah, but lucky for me Ponyboy's going to be there," I say sarcastically and Mindy lifts a brow at me.

"I thought you thought he was cute," Mindy asks and I just stare at her.

"And I thought you didn't have a crush on Steve anymore," I counter and she just laughs.

"Okay, but I bet tonight something happens. I can feel it." Mindy warns me and I fall against my bed.

"Good or bad?" I ask and Mindy puts on the Beatles record before collapsing into my desk chair in front of the fan. My room is the hottest in the whole house.

"I don't so just be careful," Mindy says and I lift my head to look at her.

"Didn't you hear? I have a babysitter tonight. Everything's going to be fine," I say, but to be honest I can feel the same thing Mindy does. But my feeling is more excitement than anything.

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A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter, let me know if you like it. Also, all my stories are tied together so the characters that are introduced in Miles Away and Blue Moon will be mentioned in here and vice versa.


	3. Chapter 3

"Eleanor, are you even listening to me?" Two-Bit asks and I roll my eyes heavily towards him. "Well are ya?" He asks and I can tell that my big brother is being serious by the crinkle between his brows.

"Yes I'm listening to you," I say even though I was kinda tuning him out. "You better not touch a beer, talk to boys, and stick close to Ponyboy. If you don't follow these rules Eleanor Matthews I'll send you off to a convent." I say in my best Two-Bit impression and my brother snorts in response.

"Is that not what you said?" I ask him and Two-Bit shakes his head in annoyance.

"Give or take a few words, but yeah you got the gist of it." Two-Bit answers but there's a sense of unnerve in his voice, like he was about to tell me I couldn't go.

"It's just a party. I'll be home by curfew and you can grill me about all the dirty details tomorrow," giving him a soft affectionate punch in his shoulder. He pulls up in front of Emily's house and I grin at him. "I promise that if things get too crazy I'll find Pony."

"Alright," he says and I smile at him, "but if any of those details you're tellin' me tomorrow are dirty I will send you to a convent and you can live off the rest of your life as a nun. I swear to God." He then makes a cross over his chest like he's just finished a prayer.

He laughs after, but I know that it's kind of forced. I lean over and hug him quickly before jumping out of the car. "Be careful El," he calls after me as I run up Emily's porch steps.

I wave to him before disappearing inside of the house. Polly and Emily are already all done up and I feel considerably underdressed.

"No way, you're going to a party like that" Polly says immediately and I just shrug my shoulders in response. My family didn't have the money to buy me fancier looking clothes and it wasn't like I could go walking out of my house dressed in a short skirt and tank top. My mama would skin me and then Two-Bit would hang me by my toes.

They would just have to deal with my tight jeans and low (but not too low) cut top. "Leaves more to the imagination," I saw with a wink that causes Emily to laugh, but not Polly.

"It ain't funny El-ea-nor," pronouncing each syllable in my name to prove her annoyance with me. Polly's face is twisted in a mean looking grimace and I cannot believe how childish she could be over the smallest things. "This is a senior boy's party. It's important that we don't look like children."

"Eleanor looks more like a woman than you do," Emily mutters under her breath as she fixes her air in the mirror. I know Polly heard her because she immediately crosses her arms over her flat chest. I look down at my own cleavage and feel a blush rise to my cheeks. I hadn't even begun to realize how much more I filled out compared to my friends.

"Should we get goin'? It's like already like eight-thirty and it's gonna take like fifteen minutes to walk down to Mark and Bryan's house," I say, quickly changing the subject as I mess with a small trinket on the end table next to the couch. I watch Polly slip on some ridiculous high heeled shoes and make a face, "Make that a half hour to walk down there now."

"You're not funny," Polly snaps as she flips me the bird but there's a slight twinge of a smile on her face. She's not mad at me anymore or at least she wasn't going to show it.

* * *

I was right of course, about how it would take us a half hour to walk a few blocks over. It was taking so long that Polly had to take the damn heels off before she broke her neck and the second the shoes slipped off she pointed at me and Emily and said, "Don't you dare say I told you so." I lifted my hands in mock surrender and Emily broke into a fit of giggles next to me.

The music from Mark and Bryon's house was pulsating all the way down the street and with each beat from the music I could feel my heartbeat pump faster in excitement. Polly takes her spot in-between us and then leads us straight down the street with a small swish to her hips and her blonde hair bouncing against her back.

"How long do you think the princess is going to hang out with us?" Emily asks only loud enough for me to hear and I shrug my shoulders in response. Polly could be surprising, but most of the time she stuck to her character.

When we reach the porch I realize the house is packed to the brim. You could smell the sweat and beer all the way out here, which made my stomach quiver with nerves and nausea. Polly slips on her shoes at the base of the porch steps and then looks back at us.

"Remember girls, don't embarrass me." Polly's voice is stiff and she almost sounds like she's some sort of queen. It makes Emily and I burst into another fit of giggles and we have to take a moment to catch our cool composure once more.

Polly locks her jaw and stalks up the steps of the porch by herself. Emily and look at each other and then follow her up, still trying to stifle our giggles with each step. When we step into the house I'm amazed at the sight that has unfolded in front of us. There are piles of teenagers from our neighborhood, Shepard's, and even the Tiger's territory. It's surprising and I feel out of my element but I follow Polly loyally, sticking close to Emily as we go.

Angela Shepard is hanging out on a couple of bar stools with a bottle of beer held loosely between her fingers. She's laughing at whatever her boyfriend Bryan has said. He's standing behind her, his arm wrapped tightly around her thin frame and lips are incredibly close to her ears. Angela's brown eyes flutter over to us and she opens her arm in drunken excitement.

"Polly!" She squeals and I watch my blonde friend hurry over to her. Angela hands Polly her beer and Polly slips onto the stool next to her, the two of them gabbing quickly about something.

I look at Emily who just shrugs her shoulders in confusion. We walk over to them, but Angela barely glances in our direction. "Baby, go grab my friend something to drink," she says with a wave of her hand.

Bryan nods and gives her a long, sloppy goodbye kiss that makes me cringe. I look away and find that there's a small group of girls from our grade hanging out over by the couches. "You want to go say hi to Margret and them?" I ask Emily, knowing that Polly and Angela aren't paying any attention to us.

"Sure do," she says as we disappear into the crowd. "We should keep an eye on Polly," Emily says once we're out of earshot. "Her brother will flip his lid if she doesn't come home tonight."

"I know and the first person he'll come looking for his Two-Bit," I say remembering the time Polly had slept over at my house without calling home first. Her brother, James, had found my brother the next morning walking home and gave him a black eye for not taking care of Polly. Two-Bit was mad as hell and Polly had to apologize to me for a month before I would even look at her again.

Margret and her friends make room for us in the circle and we join the conversation quickly. She's talking about the rumble that's supposed to happen between the Tigers and the Brumly Boys are supposed to have some rumble in the upcoming week. Margret's boyfriend was a Brumly and by the way she's talking I can tell she's watching her words, knowing full well that there are a few Tiger's lurking around here somewhere.

"They fighting with weapons?" Emily asks as she takes an already lit cigarette from Margaret and hands it to me. Emily doesn't smoke and I don't that much either, but if I'm not going to drink I might as well smoke some.

I take a slow drag on the cigarette and flick the ashes as delicately as I can into the ashtray that's on the table. Everyone else seems to be just flicking their cigarettes onto the floor and even those this is a party and Mark and Bryan don't seem to care. I can't bring myself to disrespect someone else's house like that.

"Can you get a look at that?" One of Margret's friends says before Margret can answer Emily's question.

We all look over to where she's gesturing towards and find Mark and Ponyboy both looking over here. Mark's golden eyes are focused on me and while they're dancing dangerously I can't help but find them somewhat enticing. Ponyboy, on the other hand, is staring at me as well, but his eyes are focused on me the same way Two-Bit looks at me like an older brother making sure the little sister doesn't have too much fun. I wave at Ponyboy in annoyance and he lifts his brows turning away from me, like he's embarrassed that I caught him. Mark is the one that gestures back by lifting his beer up towards me in greeting before tipping the terrible tasting drink back onto his lips.

I roll my eyes and turn back to the girls who are still admiring the two boys. Mark is handsome in the same dangerous looking way Dallas Winston was. It's enticing and exciting, but dating a boy like Dallas or a boy like Mark, who seems to be cut from the same cloth just screamed a lot of heartbreak and not the kind you learn from either, the kind of heartbreak that you can't get enough of, almost as addictive as drugs.

A heavy arm breaks me out of my thoughts and I jump, shoving whoever just touched me as far away from me as I can. Curly Shepard laughs heartily and I shove him away from again, "That wasn't funny."

"Oh c'mon El-la" he slurs and I roll my eyes as he snakes his arm around me again. Curly Shepard isn't dangerous like his brother, but he is annoying and by the way Margret, Emily, and the other girls slowly slink away from us I can tell he's not wanted company.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him as I try to pull him over to some Shepard boys that are in my grade. Kip Hark is looking at me like I'm crazy, his dark eyes staring at me dangerously like I better not drop this Shepard off to be babysat by him.

"Tim sent me over to watch Angela," he explains as he leans into me. His breath smells like some hard liquor, causing me to cringe away from him as he leans closer.

"It doesn't seem like you're doing a good job," I say as I glance around to find Angela Shepard pushed up against a wall with Bryan pressing more sloppy kisses against her neck. If it was Tim watching her tonight you best believe that Bryan wouldn't have his hands all over Angela like that.

"Psshh," Curly says as he trips over his heavy boots, "Angel can take care of herself. She's tough."

"I know," nodding my head in agreement but still looking around to see if I can find anyone who will take this guy off my hands. I make eye contact with Polly who's standing next to a Tiger and seems to be just as annoyed as I am. I realize quickly that he must be the babysitter her older brother sent. He's talking to another guy, but by the looks of it he must be making Polly leave now. Either Polly's brother wants her home now or the Tiger decided her actions weren't up to her brother's standards. Either way, Polly is being led out like a child who was misbehaving in a classroom, the shame hanging over her head like a raincloud.

"I'll be right back, Curly." I tell him before ducking out from underneath his arm and heading straight towards Polly. She makes a face at me like I shouldn't be coming over to her, but she beckons anyways.

The Tiger that's babysitting her is still talking and once I reach them she latches onto me to tell me what she did wrong. "I started talking to a Shepard boy," Polly explains in a hushed whisper that I can barely hear over the pounding music. I can smell the beet on her breath, but I know that she didn't drink too much because she's not acting crazy.

"I don't even know what I did wrong," Polly says with a sharp glance at her babysitter. "I guess old Charlie just wants me home early."

"We've only been here an hour," I say and Polly pushes her hair out of her face in annoyance.

"Tell me about it," she exasperates. "I don't get to have any fun as long as these goons are around."

The Tiger looks at her and then me but doesn't say anything. His arms are lined with tiger stripes, signaling that he's a senior member of the gang. He also looks bored that he was sent to this party to babysit and I don't blame him. He looked older, almost my brother's age and honestly a twenty-three year old shouldn't be caught at a high school party.

"Oh El, El!" Polly hisses and I jump as she digs her fingertips into me. "Tell Curly to get the hell away from here. Tucker and Chris are going to be looking for any reason to fight him. Any reason to mess with Tim and I know that Tucker's always has a heater in his waistband."

The mentioning of a heater causes me to freeze because I remember the reason Dallas wasn't around anymore was because of a heater because Tim Shepard or one of the Tiger's, we were never really sure, gave him one. I stare at Curly for a moment, but Polly gives me a good shove into him and I do my best to pull him away.

"Curly," I say quickly but he's looking past me, staring at the Tiger's behind me. "Curly," I say again, but he pushes me right into someone else.

Kip Hark catches me with relative ease and puts me back onto my feet. "You better get out of her, Mathews." He warns before shoving me back into the crowd just as Curly Shepard pulls out his blade.

It's a mess the second Curly and one of the Tiger's start fighting. The Tiger with the tattoos is standing smugly behind his buddy that's already in the fight. He has sent another member to take Polly home and I'm beginning to think that's the best idea.

As the room begins to shift for the fight I do my best to find my own babysitter. Ponyboy couldn't have gotten too far I know that. He would never leave unless he knew that I was gone too. The room seems even smaller as people push back to make room for the fight. The Tiger and Curly are rolling around on the floor, while their respective gangs looks on readying themselves to jump in when they need to. I watch the fight for a brief moment as the Tiger lands blow after blow against Curly's face. I feel sick knowing that this Tiger probably wouldn't stop until Curly was dead.

"Come on, Curly" I mutter just as Curly is able to gain some strength and knock the Tiger off of him. Now Curly has the upper hand, sitting on top of his opponent with his blade just against his neck.

Curly could easily kill him, but he before that action can cross his mind, before the Tiger with the tattoos can pull out his gun, police sirens can be heard pulling up the street. The party breaks even faster than the fight broke out and soon I'm being shoved from side to side. I reach the door with the crowd and wait at the bottom of the porch for a familiar face. I would take off with one of the Shepard boy's at this point. They would drive me home just because they respected my brother, just because they were in alliance with the Curtis'. I can't find Emily either, which worries me but hopefully, she's still with Margret and the other girls and they're heading the opposite way of the cops now.

I should be doing the same thing, but I can't bring myself to leave without knowing for sure that Emily and even Polly got out okay. As the crowd continues to pile out the sirens are getting closer and I know that I'm going to have to push myself to run very soon.

"Eleanor, are you crazy?" A familiar voice yells over the all the sounds. Ponyboy jumps the porch railing and grabs onto me a bit too forcefully. "Why are you just standing here?"

"I'm waiting for my friends," I explain and it sounds so absolutely lame that even I cringe at my answer. "I have to make sure they get out Ponyboy. What if they get hauled in?"

"Well if you get hauled in your brother will skin me, then you, and then me again." He says as he begins pulling at me to follow him down the alley between the houses instead of down the street.

He tugs at me again and even though I don't want to leave I know I have to. I follow Ponyboy down the alley, running as fast as I can push my legs. He reaches the fence to the neighbor's yard before I do but he waits for me before climbing over. Ponyboy boots me up over the fence and I land with a soft thud on the blue grass on the other side. I scramble out of the way before Ponyboy can land on top of me, but he scales the fence with ease and lands softly on his feet on the other side.

"Come on," he says before breaking into another run, leading me to the street that's behind Bryan and Mark's house. Ponyboy must have done this before because it seems like we're the only people that went this way to escape the cops.

"Did you think my friends got out okay?" I pant once Ponyboy finally slows to a run. I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack, but Ponyboy doesn't even seem winded.

"I didn't see that redhead you hang around with and the other one? If she stuck with those Tigers than you know she got out just fine. Those tigers have a way of slipping through the cops fingers," Ponyboy says before glancing back behind me.

"Why do you hang out with here anyways?" He asks and I shrug my shoulders. "Hanging out with a Tiger, even just a relative of a Tiger is bad news El."

"You sound like my brother," I point out and Ponyboy laughs somewhat.

"I just figure that if you're not going to listen to him about her, maybe you'll listen to me," he answers and I cross my arms over my chest partly because I'm cold and partly because it's my defense tactic. "I used to think I knew it all too," he adds and I roll my eyes as hard as I can towards him.

"You're only two years older than me, Curtis." I spit his last name like venom and he glances back at me with his brows lifted high on his face, "You can't know or have seen that much more than me."

I know that isn't the truth though and so does he, because the second those words spill from my lips I instantly regret them. Images of Johnny and Dallas fill my brain and I know they must be filling his as well. Ponyboy turns away from me and I don't make any motions to catch up to his longer strides. I stay behind him, like the little girl that I am.

We walk like this for a few blocks before Ponyboy finally stops and waits for me to walk next to him. I don't say anything to him, but he does his best to keep my stride. "Sorry," he says before I do but he doesn't say why he's sorry and I'm not really sure either.

"Me too," I tell him just as we reach the top of his street.

"You cold, El?" He asks as we walk down the block towards his house, "I can stop in and grab a sweatshirt, maybe your brother or Steve is back and they can just give you a lift home."

"Sure" I shrug my shoulders, still feeling lousy for snapping at Ponyboy. "Hey Pony?" I say as we round the bend in his street, "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I know, sometimes it just happens." He says before smiling half-heartedly in my direction, "We can still be friends Eleanor."

When we reach Pony's house my brother and Steve aren't there, but Ponyboy is able to grab his car keys out of the big colored glass bowl in the den to drive me home. He hands me a sweatshirt off the armchair of the couch and I stare at the soft grey fabric in my hands.

"My car doesn't have heating," he explains sheepishly, opening the car door for me and then running around to the other side.

Steve had restored an old Bel-Air for him a few summers back and while the car purred like a cat, the interior wasn't nearly as pretty. Although ugly cars are something you're used to when you grow up on our side of town. I play absentmindedly with the loose thread in the sweatshirt of his sweater and stare blindly out the window. My street was only three blocks over from Ponyboy's and we're in front of my house quicker than I would have liked.

"Thanks for the ride," I say as I pull open the car door. Before I climb out I look back at him and smile somewhat, "And for making sure I wasn't arrested."

"Anytime, Eleanor." He says with a small light laugh. "Keep the sweatshirt, I'll just get it back from you later."

"Are you sure?" I ask and Ponyboy nods his head.

"It's fine El. I know where you live," he says and I laugh shaking my head at him before closing the car door.

He waits for me to slip inside safely before pulling away and I watch his car drive slowly down the street, finally noticing the butterflies fluttering against my stomach as soon as he's gone.

* * *

_A/N: I'm sure there's errors in this that I didn't catch, but here's chapter three. Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways. Thanks you so much for the wonderful reviews._

_Love Ya'll_

_Please let me know what you thought of this chapter!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Pop. Pop. Pop._

The sound continues to ring in my ears and I finally I open my eyes just wide enough to peek over the quilt on my bed. Mama is standing in my doorway with her hand on one hip and a laundry basket sitting on the other. By the way her face has twisted into a grimace I can tell she's not happy and I try to pretend like I'm still asleep.

"Eleanor Jane," Mama calls and I press my face deeper into the pillow. "I know you're not sleeping," she continues as she steps into my bedroom. She continues to snap her gum as loud as possible as she opens my bedroom curtains wide.

I pull the quilt over my head and whimper at the sunlight. I was not ready to get out of bed. Mama mutters about something before suddenly my quilt is snatched off of me. I sit up quickly, folding my arms over my chest and glare at Mama, not believing that she would wake me up this early.

"Mama?" I half-yell in protest as I scramble to pick up the quilt. It's not like it was cold or anything, I just liked that the quilt was just thick enough to block the sun out of my eyes.

"Don't you dare," Mama snaps as places a firm foot onto my quilt so that I can't pull it back onto my bed. "Do you know what time it is?"

"No?" I ask dumbfounded considering that I just woke up. "Why does it even matter, you let Two-Bit sleep all day long."

"We're not talking about Two-Bit right now, Little Girl." Mama says as she points a finger for me to be quiet.

"So there's just a double standard for me and Two-Bit?" I ask, clearly ignoring Mama's warning.

"I don't know where this whole attitude is coming from Little Girl, but I suggest you put it back where you found it," she warns one last time and this time I listen. "Now I asked you if you knew what time it was?"

"No, Mama I don't." I say through clenched teeth. I rub my eyes and glance at the clock on my bedside table. It's almost one in the afternoon. No wonder Mama's so mad.

"You got errands to run for me today," Mama says and I nod my head. I roll out of bed and land with a thud on the floor and I hear a light laugh escape Mama's lips, but when I peek at her over the bed she's still standing there with a hard pressed frown.

"Did Mindy call me?" I ask once I'm back on my feet and pulling on the shorts that I wore yesterday.

"Twice, but you can call her back when you get home. Hurry up now," she says before placing the laundry basket filled with my clean clothes onto the bed. "What time did you and Two-Bit get home last night?" She asks at the doorway and I sigh a bit.

"Two-Bit didn't bring me home, he wasn't even there." I say and Mama lifts her brows in some surprise. "Ponyboy Curtis took me home. I probably got back a little after curfew," I admit, knowing that Mama was only asking because she knew exactly what time I got home.

"Sorry, Mama." I add quickly once she doesn't say anything.

"Don't let it happen again," she says before shutting my bedroom door behind her.

It only took me a few minutes to get ready, tossing on a clean t-shirt that Mama brought me and pulling on my shoes I was happy with the way I looked when I briefly glanced at myself in the mirror.

Mama was waiting for me in the kitchen. She had a huge pile of laundry spread out on the table, but instead of folding clothes she was on the phone, talking lightly to her older sister. Despite the fact that Aunt Jane lived in Texas with her family and the two rarely saw each other they were probably world's closer than Two-Bit and I would ever be. She points to the list on the fridge that has my name on it so that she doesn't interrupt Aunt Jane and then hands almost sixty dollars.

"Make sure Steve gets fifty for fixing the car for me," she mutters before pressing a kiss onto my cheek. "And try to find your brother while you're out."

"Yes, Ma'am," I mutter before pulling the receiver lightly from her ear. "Hi Aunt Jane," I say quickly before snatching the list off the fridge and heading out the backdoor.

Two-Bit kept my bike tucked neatly under some tarp in the shed so that no one would steal it. My bike was his old bike, but I enjoyed it anyways since it got me places quickly. I check the list that Mama wrote me and find that it's just a short grocery list: bread, milk, and apples are written perfectly across the paper. She then has a little note reminding me to give the money to Steve first so that I don't lose it.

I push my bike onto the sidewalk and then climb on, pushing the rusting bike pedals forward. The DX wasn't that far from our house, just a few blocks. I had gone there more times than I can count so I was barely paying any attention as I cruised down the street. I was thinking about last night, but mostly I was thinking about Ponyboy, the butterflies kicking into my stomach again.

The low rumble of an engine pulls me out of my thoughts and I glance over my shoulder, not recognizing the sound of the car. I don't recognize the car, but I do recognize the passenger and I do my best to ignore them. The car pulls up next to me and I keep my eyes trained forward, stopping my bike that the crosswalk so the I can cross the street. Kip Meyer, a handsome boy in my grade that hung out with the Shepard gang, hangs his head out the window.

"Hey, Eleanor," he calls and I look at him with my brows lifted high on my forehead. He smiles and I return the gesture feebly. Kip has a mean streak at school, but he's always been nice to me.

"Hi, Kip" I say before nodding my head at the driver. I didn't recognize him, but I figured he was a part of Shepard's gang as well. "How are you?"

"I'm doing alright, Kitten." He coos but I know he's teasing me like he always does. "You know where we can find your brother?" He asks and my guard automatically rises.

"Why?" I ask stiffly and Kip shrugs his shoulders still smiling kindly at me.

"Tim wants a chat," he explains before quickly adding, "It's no big deal."

"I haven't seen him, but I'll tell him you're looking." I say before glancing at the light and willing for it to change. I notice that there's one more boy in the backseat and he smiles wickedly when I look back at the car.

The driver mutters something to Kip, who shakes his head no quickly. "Thanks, Kitten." He says with a wink as the light changes for me to cross. They wait for me to push my bike across the street before turning left and then I watch as they pull into the parking lot of the DX. I hold my breath and pedal as fast as I can to the garage.

I reach the garage first since their car had to drive to the end of the street to pull in and I could just hop the curb. There's a small group in the garage, but none of them are my brother.

"I was wondering when I was going to see you," Steve says as he holds out his hand for the money I was supposed to bring him. "I thought you skipped town with it," he adds so that I know he's just teasing me.

"There's a car with three Shepard boy's coming over here. They stopped me at the light to ask me about Two-Bit," I continue as Steve counts out the money. His brows furrow in question and he looks at Sodapop who just shrugs. Sodapop pats the stool next to him and I set my bike against the wall before taking a seat.

"They mess with you?" Soda asks as he hands me a Pepsi and I shake my head no. We watch as Steve pops his head into the little store that connects with the garage just as the car pulls up in front of the entrance.

The driver gets out first and Kip follows with a glare in his direction. Kip's taller than him, but I can tell the driver is a senior member by the hardness of his face. Although, I don't think I've ever seen him around.

"Where's Matthews," the driver asks as Ponyboy emerges from the door that Steve had just poked his head into moments before. He glances at me, before staring at the group of three that just arrived.

"I thought you just talked to her," Steve answers as he takes a solid stance in front of the driver. I eye the boy in the backseat and wonder why he's so twitchy.

"Don't fuck with me Randle, you know what Matthew's I'm talking about," the driver responds quickly and Steve bobs his head in slow agreement.

"Last time I saw Two-Bit was last night, Buck Merrill's place. Eleanor, he make it home?" Steve asks and I shake my head feebly, knowing for sure that my brother was not at home.

The driver points his pudgy finger at me and Steve blocks his view of him by standing between us. "Leave her out of this," he growls with a locked jaw.

Kip speaks up now, clearly realizing that this is going to become a fight between the driver and Steve any second. "Look, when any of you see Two-Bit tell him that Tim's looking for him. That's all we came here to say."

Steve nods and then reaches his hand out to shake Kip's. As they pile back into the car, the driver points his finger at me again and says, "If your brother takes too long to show up, we'll take any Matthew's."

I look at Soda quickly, who just shakes his head in a slight no. I'm not sure if it was a no, they won't or a no, we won't let them. Either way, I wasn't convinced.

"Get in the car," Kip snaps as he slams his own door shut. We watch them pull out of the driveway before I feel the panic set in.

"Where's Two?" I ask as my voice shakes. I look at Steve first and then at Ponyboy, but he's still watching where the car disappeared down the road.

"Maybe he's at Kathy's," Steve suggests before he leans back over the car he had been working on when I showed up. I make a small noise and Steve's head picks back up to give me a sympathetic look, "Aw, look El. Your brother probably just owes Shepard money. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Two-Bit does like to gamble," Soda agrees before he nudges me softly with his elbows. "The worst thing Tim's going to do is teach your brother a lesson and Two-Bit's a good fighter, alright?"

"He doesn't have a blade on him?" Pony asks and I shake my head no. Two-Bit stopped carrying a knife after he lost his silver one when everything happened to Dallas that night.

"Well, I – I don't think he does." I say because it's obvious now that I don't know everything about my brother, like I figured I did.

* * *

I ride my bike slowly to the store and then slowly back home. I jump every time an engine revs too loud next to me and keep glancing over my shoulder when things got way to quiet. To say that I was disappointed when I got home and Two-Bit's car wasn't in the driveway was an understatement.

Mama was still in the kitchen, but she was cooking now, humming along to the radio as she stirred the pan filled with pasta sauce.

"Well, there's my girl." She says as I place the groceries on the counter along with her change. Mama hands me the five dollars and the swipes the coins into her purse. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, Mama." I say and she smiles at me and I know she isn't entirely convinced. "Two-Bit come home, at all, today?"

"For a few minutes," she says as she puts away the groceries that I brought home. "He was hanging out with that blonde boy with the eyes."

"Mark?" I asks and she nods her head, still humming to the song.

"Yeah, that's the one. They were going to a party tonight or something like that." She says and I chew on my lip in confusion.

"With Mark?" I ask again and Mama looks at me with her brows high.

"Yes, you sure you're alright?" She questions and I nod my head.

"I'm going to call Mindy," I say as start down the hallway and Mama nods her head.

"Dinner's going to be done soon," she calls after me but I'm already shut in my room.

I don't call Mindy right away, it's the Curtis number that I dial first. I hope that Ponyboy's off work now and is at home because he's the only person I know that's good enough friends with Two-Bit and Mark. The phone rings three times before it's answered and I hold my breath.

"Hel-lo?" Lydia says in a breathy tone and I rub my face, picturing the pretty blonde that always drinks sweet tea on the porch while she reads.

"Hi, is Ponyboy there?" I ask, hoping that Lydia doesn't recognize my voice and announce to the house that I'm calling him.

"He sure is, Darlin' hold on, huh?" She asks before pulling the receiver from her ear. "Pony!" I can hear her yell, "Telephone's for you."

"Who is it?" I can hear him after a few moments and I picture him standing in the doorway that leads to the living room.

"A girl," she answers and there's a small chorus of _oooh's_ on the other side. I have half a mind to hang up right then, but instead I just suck in a breath. There's a small shuffle as Ponyboy takes the phone.

"Hold on," he mutters into the receiver as I'm sure he carries that phone from the living back into his bedroom to get way from I assume Steve, Soda, and Darry. "Hi?" He asks once the shuffling stops and I suck in a deep breath.

"Hi, Ponyboy," I say weakly and then continue, "it's Eleanor – Matthews." I add lamely because he might know exactly who it is.

"I know," he says and I feel the heat in my cheeks rise. "You're the only Eleanor that I know," he continues and I smile at the thought.

"Oh," I say and he laughs. "I just – um, I wanted to call because came out while I was out and he was with Mark. I guess we're going to a party together and I wanted to know if you – if you knew anything about that?"

"No, Eleanor I would have told you today if I did." He says and I sigh, running a nervous hand through my hair. "Look, El I know that that Shepard boy really freaked you out, but they ain't going to do anything to you, alright? Your brother wouldn't let that happen and I'm – we won't let that happen either, okay?"

"I'm more worried about my brother," I admit and Ponyboy sighs.

"I'm sure you are, but don't worry too much." He pauses for a minute and then adds, "Look I'm going to see Bryan tonight and I'll see what he knows and I'll call you tomorrow."

"Thanks Pony," I say and I can almost hear his smile over the phone.

"You call me anytime." He pauses again and says, "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye, Eleanor."

We hang up the phones and I quickly dial Mindy's number. The phone rings about six times before she answers, "Hello?"

"Mindy," I say and I hear her sigh.

"Oh my gosh, I've been calling you all day!" She scolds and I smile at the familiar tone of her voice.

"I've been doing errands for my, Mama. You're not going to believe you missed last night and I guess today too," I say before delving into my small adventures.

I'm not even halfway through my story when someone knocks on the front door. I ignore it, assuming that it's one of the neighbors coming over here to ask Mama for a cup of sugar or something. "Eleanor, door's for you!" Mama yells and I sit up quickly, knowing that I didn't make plans with anyone.

"Maybe it's Ponyboy," Mindy teases and I roll my eyes at her suggestion.

"It wouldn't be Ponyboy," I argue with laugh before saying my goodbyes with her.

I hurry down the hallway and find Kip standing on my porch, the screen door separating him from my house. I look at him and then at Mama who's staring at me with a curious eyes. I know that she thinks Kip is handsome, she wouldn't if I told her the day I had, but I'll humor her for now.

"Hi Kip," I say as I open the screen door and then close the heavy front door behind me. He came here alone that much I can tell, because the beat up car the sits in Two-Bit's spot is empty.

"Hey, Kitten" he teases even though I can tell her feels bad after what happened today.

"What do you want? My brother's not here, if that's what you came for or maybe you came for me?" I ask and Kip shakes his head no.

"Look that wasn't how it was supposed to go down today. Ernie's just an angry person, all the time and he wants to look good for Tim. Threatening you wasn't part of the plan and Tim wouldn't be happy to know we did that," he says as he scuffs his heavy boot on porch.

"I don't care explanation, Kip." I say he nods his head, understanding. "I just want to know what Shepard wants with Two-Bit."

"I don't know exactly, Kitten but he wants to find Two-Bit," he says with grimace and I take a deep breath.

"Did Two-Bit do something to his car or try to sleep with his girl?" I ask, remembering all the fights that Dallas and Tim used to have because of that.

"No, I'm sure it's about money." Kip answers as he lights a cigarette. He offers it to me, but I decline knowing that if Mama sees me take a drag she won't be very happy.

"Kip, if you hear anything else will you tell me?" I ask as he attempts to blow a smoke ring into the air.

"You'll be the first to know, Kitten." He says before taking a few backward steps off the porch. "Look out Ernie and try not catch yourself on your own. Tim may not like us messing with other people's sisters, but Ernie doesn't always listen. Ya dig?"

"Yeah, thanks Kip."

* * *

_A/n: I hope you guys like this chapter!_

_What do you think Shepard wants with Two-Bit?_

_Let me know! Please review!_


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